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Turkey keen to export steel to Bangladesh

Namik Ekinci, chairman of Turkey's Steel Exporters Association, talks business potential

Arun Bikash Dey, Chittagong
TURKEY seeks to export raw-steel products at competitive prices to Bangladesh, a big importer of the items, said Namik Ekinci, chairman of Steel Exporters Association of Turkey.
Steel is one of the most important sectors for the Bangladesh economy, said Ekinci, who led a 23-member delegation of his association to Chittagong last week.
“You have rolling industries but you do not have a melting industry," Ekinci said at a meeting with the businesspeople in the port city.
"When you have a melting industry, the sector will flourish," said Ekinci, also the chief executive officer of Ekinciler.
Due to the absence of the melting industry, Bangladesh needs to import raw steel products such as billets, he said in an interview with The Daily Star.
“We produce billets, as our industries are more equipped. We produce high quality steel in Turkey and export it all over the world.”
Actually, Turkey is the world’s 10th biggest steel producer and the seventh largest steel exporter, he said, adding that he has no idea about the quality of Ban-gladesh's steel products, as the country does not export steels.
He did not ever visit any steel industry in Bangladesh. "I have seen some steel products in roadside shops on the way,” Ekinci said.
“We decided to hold the first meeting with the businesspersons here in Chittagong as it is a business hub."
“We have heard that most of the steel industries of Bangladesh are located in Chittagong. This information played a role in making the decision of holding first meeting here in Chittagong," he added.
"We sat for a discussion with the businesspersons in Chittagong and the meeting was very fruitful,” he said, adding that the businesspeople showed positive attitude to them and both the sides signed an agreement to increase bilateral trade and business.
“We have a very good cultural and political relationship between the people of Turkey and Bangladesh, but we do not have much bilateral business activities,” Ekinci commented.
"So we want to increase the business activities between the two countries.”
The total imports of Turkey from Bangladesh were worth $844 million in 2010 while Turkish exports to Bangladesh were $170 million, he said.
Bangladesh imported a total of 1.5 million tonnes of steal products in 2010 from all over the world, he said, adding that one million tonnes of that were flat products and 0.5 million tonnes were long products.
"We want to export steel products and set up steel industries here in Bangladesh.”
The delegate said Turkey produced 34 million tonnes of steel products in 2010 and 38 million tonnes in 2011.
He also said his country exported 11 million tonnes of steel products in 2010 and 18 million tonnes in 2011.
He said 90 percent of the imported steel products of Dubai come from Turkey, which exports steel products to more than 200 countries.